Loose Wheels: Bedford Teens Bike Across Country

Thanks to Margaret Wilson of Design for sharing this news. To share your news on Patch,

Finding yourself bored for a summer adventure?

Precisely.. Well, two boys out of Bedford withdrew from the lazy days of summer and did just that—had an adventure.

Devon Wilson and Seth Zegelstein, ages 16 and 17, both of Bedford Village, challenged themselves to bike across the United States.

Mission accomplished! The starting point was dipping the front tire of their touring bikes in the Atlantic Ocean, starting in Charleston, SC and finishing with and again dipping their front tire, and their clothes, shoes, and helmets with screams of excitement at the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, CA.

Armed with only bikes, and panniers (saddlebags), and a pack of 8 other teenagers, and 2 counselors, they toured the country over a 6-week period setting across the southern states to complete close to 2800 miles, averaging 80 to 100 miles per day.

Just WOW!!! Some days the heat was well over 100, and they had to rise sometimes as early as 3 a.m. to beat the heat. Other challenges included crossing the dessert, the mountains, the continental divide, combatting sand storms, armadillos strewn across the road, being chased by rainstorms, seeing herds of antelope, climbing elevations to almost 5000, coasting as fast downhill, and finally ending with the refreshing waters of the Pacific.

In the end, the hardest task was not the cycling, but enduring the heat. As for the highlights:

The route and folks in the south were amazing. If you ask them, with loud shouts.. don’t be fooled, Georgia is not flat. In Arkansas, the Wall’s hosted the team on their ranch. Then there was a night in a firehouse, where the fire department treated them to a good ole southern barbecue. And there was a lady who had them treated them all to a restaurant. They met a 60 year old man biking across the world. And then there was the job of eating over $200 of pies in Pie Town.

The cooking was primarily done by the group, the accommodations a collection of camp sites, school gymnasiums, churches, hostels, and the like.

So if you see the boys around town, challenge them to their new vision of the American landscape and the people of the south, truly an experience that will last and to be shared for years to come.

Devon Wilson will be a senior at Fox Lane High School this year and Seth Zegelstein will be a senior at Lowell Whiteman in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.